Leather finishing machine



Filed Dec. 51, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet jay.

March 1, 1932. AULSON 1,847,745

LEATHER FINISHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 31, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 1, 1932. P. G. AULSON LEATHER FINISHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 31. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 H 1 U am a ,Phzlvp M Inventor:

tr n L mew am =3 E 1 fimHm HMH w wmmm -13 "HM. w m x m WMM WH M P {1 I -1: ------Ilil--. .----1 .-----iii A Patented Mar. 1, 1932 I UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE PHILIP G. AULSON, F SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AULSON TANNING MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS LEATHER FINISHING MACHINE Application filed December 31, 1928. Serial No. 329,450.

This invention relates to machines for applying blacking or coloring matter to the face of a hide in order to give it a. required finish, and it has for its object the construction of a machine of this class which will be very effective in operation and by means of which a more even distribution of coloring matter may beapplied to the hides. 7 These objects are attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings. o For the purpose of illustrating the invention, one preferred form thereof is illustrated in the drawings, this form having been-found to give satisfactory and reliable results, al-

though it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized, and the invention is not limited to the precise :0 arrangement and organization of these instru mentalities as herein shown and described except as required by the scope of the appended claims. Of the drawings; 7 g V I .Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a finishing machine embodying the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 represents a partial elevation of the left side of said machine.

I Figure 3 represents a partial eleva ion of the right side of the machine.-

Figure 4 represents alongitudinal vertical 2 section of a portion of themachine.

Figure 5 represents a plan of the conveyor mechanism at the delivery end of said machine.

Figure 6 represents a side elevation of said conveyor mechanism, and

Figure 7 represents a sectional detail showing the means for removing and cleaning surplus material from the bed roll and delivering it into a trough leading to the supply tank.

Similar characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawmgs.

In the drawings, 10 is the frame ofa machine having revolubly mounted inbearings thereon a shaft 11 having a bed roll 12 mounted thereon and revoluble therewith.

An inclined table13 is provided over which the hide is fed between the panl l and said bed roll 12 until it is engaged by the revoluble blacking brush 15 which'retains the hide on Said bed roll and causes it to be fed in contact with the bed roll 12 beneath, the distributing brush 16 and finishing brush'17.

The pan lt is partially filled with the liquid.

material to be used upon the hides. This material may be blacking' or any desired coloring matter.

Partly submerged in the pan 1d is a feed roll 18' which deposits a portion of the liquid material upon the brush 15 from which said material is deposited upon the surface of the hide on the bed roll 12. I

The material thus deposited upon the hide is distributed over the entire surface of the hide by the distributing brush 16, and as said hide passes beneath the brush 17 the surface of the side is finished, the material being more evenlyspread over the surface and smoothed by the latter brush;

The bedroll 12 revolves in the direction of the arrow a on Fig. .4 of the drawings and all surplus liquid which may be deposited thereon is removed therefrom by means of the scraper 19, which may be of any well-known construction. V p

The frame 10 has revolublymounted therein a driving shaft 20 to which rotary movement is imparted by any suitable means.

On the shaft 20 is a gear 23 meshingwith a gear 24 which in turn rotatesthe gear 25 secured to the shaft 11, this rotary movement being imparted by the train of intermediate gears 24m and 241.

v The'brushes 15, 16 and 17 are secured to and revoluble with the shafts 15:10, 16:1: and 17.72 respectively.

, These shafts 15%, 16:0 and 1703 are mounted in suitable bearings adapted to be adjusted toward and from the bed roll 12 in any well known manner.

The shafts 15m, 1600 have secured thereto the sprocket wheels 26, 27 over which passes a sprocket chain 28 driven by means of a sprocket wheel 29 on the shaft 20. The slack in the sprocket chain 29 is taken up by means of the sprocket Wheel 30.

The shaft 173: has a sprocket wheel 31 thereon which is rotated by means of a sprocket chain 32 from a sprocket wheel 33 secured to the shaft 16%.

This shaft 87 revolves in a bearing 88 formed in a bracket 39 secured to an arm 40 extending from the frame 10.

Thisbracket 39 also has a bearing for a shaft 41 to one end of which is secured a bevel gear 42 meshing with a bevel gear 43 secured to and revoluble "ith the shaft 87.

The opposite end of the shaft 41 has a crank 44 secured thereto having a projection 44m thereon extending through a slot 45 in a lever 46 pivoted. at 47 to a. bracket 48 extending from one end frame 10.

' The upper end of this lever 46 has pivoted thereto one end of a link 49, the opposite end of which is. pivoted to a standard 50 extending upwardly from a wooden bar 51 adapted to be reciprocated endwise in the pan by means of the oscillation of the lever 46.

The bar 51 has extending from one side thereof a plurality of plates 52 having perforations 53 thereinflche lower edges of these plates being adjacent with the inner face of the pan 14.

The opposite side of the bar 51 has a plurality of fingers extending beneath the feed roll 18 with their upper edges adjacent the periphery of said feed roll and the lower edges adjacent the inner face of the pan 14.

During the operation of the machine the shaft 41 is rotated and in its rotation, by means of the crank 44, imparts an oscillation to the lever 46 which in turn causes a reciprocation of the bar 51 together with the perforated plates 52 and fingers 54 attached thereto.

Projecting from the standard 56 is an arm 55, the outer end of which is provided with a groove 56 into which extends the upper edge of the pan 14.

A similar arm 57 is secured to the opposite end of the bar 51.

These arms and 57 coact with the edge of the pan 14 thereby retaining the bar 51 in a straight path during its reciprocation.

Above the feed roll 18 is positioned a' splasher board 58 which is adjustable toward and from the roll 18 and locked in ad justedposition by clamp screws 59 extending through slots 60 in the arms 61 extending upwardly from the end frames 10. The board 58 'is adapted to catch the spray from the brush 15 when rotating.

The feed roll 18 is secured to and revolves with a shaft 18%, to one end of which is secured a friction disk 62 with which coact-s a friction roll 63 splined to a shaft 64.

The shaft 64 rotates in hearings in arms 65 and 66 extending upwardly from one end frame 10 and is prevented from moving endwise in said bearing.

These arms 65, 66 also have rotatably mounted in the upper end thereof a shaft 67 which is threaded at 68, end movement of said shaft being prevented by the collars 67%.

The threaded portion 68 of the shaft 67 coacts with a nut 69 having a bifurcated extension 70 straddling. the grooved hub 71 of the roller 63.

The forward end of the shaft 67 has secured thereto a wheel 72 by which said shaft may be rotated.

When said shaft 67 is rotated the nut 69 will move longitudinally of said shaft and adjust the position of the friction roll 63 toward and from the axis of the friction wheel in order to vary the speed of rotation of the feed roll 18 as desired. 2 i

The shaft '64'is rotated by means of a" sprocket chain 73 extending over a sprocket wheel 74 on one end of the shaft 64 and under a sprocket wheel 75 positioned in front of a gear reducer 76 which maybe of any well known construction/ This gear reducer 76 has a shaft 77 extend inclined trough 82 extending longitudinally of the frame 10.

r-iny coloring matter scraped from the bed roll 12 will run down this inclined plate 81 into the trough 82, one end of said trough 82 being disposed over the open end of the cylindrical tank 83 containing a supply of coloring matter or blacking.

Disposed transversely of the top of said tank 83 is a board 84 to which is secured the gear casing 85,. the gears confined in said casing (not shown) beingdriven by a pulley 86 on'shaft 87 which also has a loose pulley 88 thereon. I

Extending upwardly from the bearing 89 for said shaft is an arm 90 through which extends a rod 91 provided with belt shifting fingers 92.

The opposite end of the rod 91 has a handle 93 secured thereto by which the shaft 91 may be moved endwise to shift a driving belt (not shown) from one pulley to the other.

Extending downwardly into the tank from the gear casing 85 is a rotatable shaft 94 having radial blades 95 extending therefrom.

lVhen the fast pulley 86 is rotated the blades 95 will be revolved within the tank 83 and thoroughly stir the coloring matter contained therein. 7

On the bracket 96 secured to one end frame 10 is a pump 97 whichis adapted to be actua ed by means of a sprocket chain 98-driven by means of a sprocket .wheelsimilar to 80 and keyed to the shaft behind the gear 23.

' A pipe 99 extends from the bottom of the tank 83 to the inlet of the pump 97, this pipe having a cut-off valve 100 therein from the pump.

From the outlet of pump 97 extends a pipe pan 1a will be thoroughly agitatedby means of the reciprocation of the bar 51 and the perforated plates 52 and fingers 54.

At the rear of the frame 10 is another frame 103. the forward end of which is provided with bearings 104; in which is disposed a revoluble shaft 105.

One end of this shaft has secured thereto a gear 106 meshing with the gear 241.

The shaft 105 also has securedthereto, between the bearings: 10 1, a roller 107 over which passes a conveyor belt 108, which belt also passes over a roller 109 at the opposite end of the frame 103. i

The hides after having the coloring matter applied thereto are delivered to this conveyor belt 108 and while positioned on said belt and during the travel thereof, the hides on said belt may beswabbed by hand removing all surplus coloring matter therefrom and leaving an even coating throughout the entire surface of said hides. v .7

The roller 109 is secured toia shaft 110 mounted in bearings in blocks lll adapted to be moved in the guide frames 112 by means i of adjusting'screws 113 thereby keeping the conveyor belt perfectly taut at all times.

114. secured to the top of the frame 103 as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings.

These plates give a substantial backing for the conveyor belt108 as it passes over them so that considerable force may be applied during the swabbing operation.

To one end of'the shaft 110 issecured a sprocket wheel 115 over which passes a sprocket chain 116' which drives a sprocket wheel 117 mountedupon a stud 118 projecting laterally from one leg of the frame 103. I

r The sprocket wheel 117 has secured thereto and revoluble therewith a larger sprocket wheel 119 which drives through the medium of the sprocket chain 120, a sprocket wheel 121 on a shaft 122. i

This shaft 122 has secured thereto, between the side frames 103, a cleaning brush 123.

The shaft 122 is mounted in bearings adjustablevertically in brackets 12 i depending from the side frames 103.

This cleaning brush 123may be adjusted to retain the periphery of the rollerin' contact with the under face of the conveyor belt 108 as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The brush 123 rotates contra-clockwise and that part of the conveyor belt contacting therewith travels in the opposite direction.

Asa result of this action of the cleaning brush 123 any surplus material on the face of the conveyor belt will be wiped therefrom and drop into the receptacle 125. I

" An overflow pipe 126 extends upwardly into the receptacle 125 with its upper end so disposed that a portion of the periphery of the brusl1'123 will always be immersed in the cleansing liquid within said receptacle.

When the liquid in the receptacle 125 reaches the top of said pipe 126 it will be carried away to any said pipe.

The pipe 126 has a- T 127 therein, the vertical branch of which communicates with a drip pan 128 positioned above said T.

suitable point through Above the drip pan 128 and revolubly mounted in hearings in the legs 129 of the frame 103 is an idler roller 130 against which i the lower portion of belt 108 contacts. 1

- Beneath this lower portion of theconveyor belt 108 is a wiper bar131 which issecured to the continuous conveyor a plurality of levers 132 freely mounted upon a shaft 133 extending transversely of the frame 103.

g This wiper bar 131 will remove all surplus coloring matter and cleansing material from the face of the'endless belt or bolster 108 so that it will be dry by the time it passes over the. roller 107into position to receive other hides.

The longer arms 13% of these levers 132 each has a weight 135 thereon which retains the wiper bar 131 atall times in contact with the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt rests upon metal plates All surplus coloring matter and cleansing material removed fromthe belt by means of this wiper bar 131 will drop into the drip'pan 128 and be carried away through the pipe 126. By means of the cleaning brush 123 and the wiper bar 131 the face of the conveyor belt or bolster is cleaned before it passes over the roller 107 and is in condition to receive other hides as they are delivered thereto from the coloring machine.

Another idler roller 136 revoluble in bear- .ings in the legs 137 supports the lower port on of the continuous belt or bolster as it approaches the roller 107.

lVhenthe hide has been coated'with coloring'matter and passed between the bed roll 12 means of the roller 18.

4- eanna of to swab the hides delivered to the endless belt or bolster 108. v

It will be noted that the cleansing brush 123 and wiper bar 131 are located near the end of this frame furthest removed from color applying brushes 15, 16 and 17, and this location ofthese devices is of considerable importance as it gives the bolster ample time to dry before it reaches a point where other hides are to be deposited thereon.

The tank 83 may be positioned adjacent the frame 10 or it may be placed at any desired point removed therefrom in View of the fact that the agitating blades therein are driven by mechanism entirely independent of the driving mechanisms on the frames 10 and 103.

{,By driving these agitating blades 95 by such independent driving mechanism any desired speed maybe imparted thereto regardless of the speed of the driving mechanisms actuating the color apply ng brushes 15 16 and 17, and moving the endless bolster 108.

In the operation of the machine hides are placed on theinclined board 13' and fed between the bed roll 12 and brush 15 and this roll and brush will seize the hide and feed it between'the other rushes 16 and 17 and bed .roll- 12 until they are deposited on the shelf 138 and delivered to the bolster 108.

lVhile on thebolster 108 all manual swabbing may be performed during the travel of said bolster.

,lVhen the finished hides are removed from thebolster 108 said bolster will be cleansed priorto the delivery of other hides thereto.

If desired, the frame 103 may be disconnected from the color applying mechanisms and the shaft 105 thereof be rotated by an independent driving mechanism connected to shaft 110. V The coloring matter in the pan 1% will be thoroughly agitated duringthe operation of the machine and portions of this coloring matter will be deposited on the brush 15 by The brush 15 will apply thecoloring matterto the face of the hide and said coloring matter will be distributed over the surface of the hide by means of brush 16.

The brush 17 will then fin sh the hide before it is delivered to the bolster 108 where it is inspected by operators on either or both sides of the frame 103.

These operators keep the hides fiat and remove by swabbi'ng any uneven spots on the surface of the hides. I

It is believed that the operation and many advantages of the invention will be readily understood without further description.

' Having fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In a hide finishing machine; a rotatable bed roll; rotary brushes coacting therewith; a pan adapted to contain coloring matter; a

rotatable roller in said pan for depositing coloring matter on one of said brushes; a bar within said pan and extending lengthwise thereof; lateral projections extending from said bar; a standard on said bar; a pivoted lever, one arm of which is provided with an elongated slot; a link between said standard and theother arm of said lever; a crank having a pin extending into said slot; a rotatable shaft having said crank secured to one end thereof and a bevel gear. secured to the opposite end; a fixed stud; a sprocket wheel rotatable on said stud; a bevel gear rotatable with said wheel and meshing with the crank shaft gear; a shaft for said bed roll a sprocket wheel thereon; and an endless chain connecting said sprocket wheels. 7

2. In a hide finishing machine provided with a color-distributing roller; a pan adapted tocontain coloring matter and in which said roller is adapted to rotate; a bar adapted to reciprocate within said pan; a plurality of agitating members extending laterally from and rigidly secured to said bar; and means on said bar coacting withan edge of said pan and forming a guide for said bar.

8. In a hide finishing machine provided with a color-distributing roller; a pan adapted tocontain coloring matter and in which said roller is adapted to rotate; a bar adapted to reciprocate within said pan; a plurality of agitatingrmembers rigidly secured to said bar and extending laterally therefrom beneath said roller; and means on said bar coacting with said pan to restrict the movement of said bar to a straight path.

1. In a hide finishing machine provided with a color-distributing roller; a pan adapted to contain coloring matter and in which said roller is adaptedto rotate ;a bar adapted to reciprocate within said pan; a plurality of agitating members extending laterally from and rigidly secured to the opposite sides of said bar; and a plurality of forked guide members movablerwith said bar and coacting with an edge of said pan.

5. Ina hide finishing machine provided with a color-distributing roller a panadapted to contain coloring matter and in which said roller is adapted to rotate; a bar within.

said pan and extending lengthwise thereof; lateral projections extending from said bar and secured rigidly thereto; a standard on said bar; a pivoted lever, the lower arm of which is provided with an elongated slot; a link between said standard and the other arm of said lever; and a revoluble crank having a pin extending into said slot.

6. In a hide finishing machine provided with a colordistributing roller; a pan adapted tocontain coloring matter and in which said roller is adapted to rotate; a bar adapted to reciprocate within said pan; and a plurality of agitating members rigidly secured to said bar and extendinglaterally therefrom beneath said roller with their upper edges adjacent the periphery of said roller.

7. In a hide finishing machine provided with a color-distributing roller; a pan adapted to contain coloring matter and in which said roller is adapted to rotate; a bar adapted to reciprocate within said pan; and two sets of agitating members extending laterally from and rigidly secured to the opposite sides of said bar, one set being perforated and the other set being curved with their upper edges adjacent the periphery of said roller.

8. In a hide finishing machine provided with a color-distributing roller, a bed roll and a shaft therefor; a pan adapted to contain coloring matter and in which said roller is adapted torotate; a bar within said pan and extending lengthwise thereof; lateral projections extending from said bar and secured rigidly thereto; a standard on said bar; a pivoted lever the lower arm of which is provided with an elongated slot; a link between said standard and the other arm of said lever; a revolulole crank having a pin extending into said slot; and means for actuating said crank from the bed roll shaft.

Signed by me at 294 WVashington St, Boston, Massachusetts this 12th day of December, 1928. I

PHILIP G. AULSON. 

